Love is Colder Than Death
by endless blue skies
Summary: Zombie Apocalypse AU. The first thing she notices as they step off the train is the stench of death tainting the air. Katniss flinches, Peeta's fingers twitch in her loose grasp. District Twelve does not welcome them with boughs of flowers and bread.


**Hello, I'm not quite sure if I want to continue with this but if all goes well, then I just might write and write and write. Sloppy at it's best but I worked quite hard on this! I hope you all enjoy. Canons might apply but we'll never know, really. Reviews would be lovely, and if this gets enough, I'll continue.**

Chilly air brushes past the dark haired girl as she turns to stare at the boy sitting across her. Blonde hair grazes his forehead, his blue eyes avoid her grey ones. Rubbing her palms together, she sighs and remembers a time when he would've gladly kept her warm in his arms._ It was all for the Games, how you acted._ His words still sting. Every word, every letter is slowly etched on her heart, never to be forgotten again. But why does it hurt? Hadn't it really been for the Games? Survival, a strategy. No feelings were supposed to be involved, Peeta didn't love her. The flowers, the kissing. They were for the Games. They weren't real, he should've known. He should've known about Gale, how it would've changed everything as soon as they were out of the arena. Peeta wasn't being fair.

"Peeta." She whispers softly, her voice barely audible through the low rumble of the train's engine. He turns, eyes blank and expressionless. Katniss shivers but does not falter. "Peeta I-" The train comes to a sudden halt. The doors do not open as expected, the cameras don't flash because there aren't any. Peeta doesn't react, doesn't pretend to even hear her. He pushes past the carts of food and trails out of the train. Shaking her head, Katniss follows as she silently curses herself.

The first thing she notices as they step off the train is the stench of death tainting the air. Katniss flinches, Peeta's fingers twitch in her loose grasp. District Twelve does not welcome them with boughs of flowers and bread, they do not cheer or scream their victors' names the way a proud District should. No cameras await, not a soul watches their arrival. "Some crowd." Peeta huffs flatly. Fog encloses the station, it's empty. A steady gush of wind whistles, tossing about papers, and empty plastic bags. Something isn't right. The place is completely deserted.

A laugh errupts from inside the train as someone pushes them apart. "Guess yeh weren't as looooovvvveeddd as yeh thought, eh, fire girllll?" Haymitch slurs, stumbling from behind them as he tugs on Peeta's shirt. No words are spoken, her grey eyes meet the blonde's blue ones but his eyes are as dead as the station, still hurt from the events which have just ocurred. A silhoutte emerges from the fog, a man she supposes. He scuffles closer, his steps are a clumsy stumble.

"Hey! Hey, over here!" Peeta calls, waving his hands in the air frantically. But there's something off, something not quite right. Nevermind the empty station. It's the stench, the odd chill of the district. It hadn't always been this way or had she gotten so used to the severeness of the arena that the district's normalcy had been changed forever? No. That isn't the case. The place is exactly how she described the smell. _Dead_. "Here! Hey, Sir! Can you please tell us where everyone is?" The blonde calls out, the figure moves closer.

"Rrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnn."

"Peeta, I think something's wrong." She whispers softly as Haymitch leans on Peeta's arm.

Peeta doesn't falter. "It's Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, the victors... And our mentor, Haymitch. He's drunk and we could use some help." But the figure moves closer, the man. His pace quickens. One, two, three steps closer. The smell is stronger. Stale blood, rotting meat. Katniss holds her breath. This isn't right. Something is wrong.

"_Peeta._" She huffs, tugging at his arm slowly. "Pee-"

Too late. The man is too fast, he launches himself at Peeta. Groaning as he tries to bite the blonde. Katniss is frozen. The man; he looks exactly like Cray. "What the hell! Get off me!" _Do something._ A voice commands in her but she can't move, she's lost in a daze. _Cray_, this man looks exactly like _Cray_.

"RRRRRNNNNN!" he grumbles louder as Peeta kicks him. An arrow is launched into the foggy air and through Cray's skull before he falls onto the ground; it's quick and precise and only one person could've launched an arrow like that in District Twelve besides her.

"Gale!" she calls out. "Gale!"

"He was trying to bite me! What the hell?" Peeta asks to no one in particular, coughing as he gets up. It's Cray, Katniss finally realizes. Cray attacked Peeta, but why? Haymitch doesn't move, only stares at the Head Peacekeeper's deteriorating body. _Dead_. His skin of grey with blood stains across his pudgy face.

"Ga-" She's about to call out again but in the thickness of the fog, hands wrap around her mouth before she can finish. His warmth, his calloused fingers tapping against the skin of her cheek. _Gale_. She gasps when he lets go but he does not say a word, only presses his finger to his pink lips and ushers them towards the exit.

Only when then have their backs against the alley wall does he speak in a hushed tone, barely a whisper. His tone is commanding, not soothing. "Steer clear, tell me if you hear anything. Don't say a word, no questions. Any sound you make is crucial, dangerous. They will hear you, they will come and they will kill you. We have to be precise and quiet. Understand?" He stares at the three of them with a hard expression, they nod slowly but Katniss can't think straight. Who? Who is he talking about? What's happened to District Twelve?

She realizes this as soon as they are out in the open. The soulless train station had been nothing to what stands before them. A barren District, a ghost of what could've possibly been a bustling town of bakeries, coal, and such. Grey and dead; just like Cray's dead figure in the station. Turning to Gale, he nods at her before handing her a bow and three arrows. "Shoot the head, if anyone lunges, do _not_ hesitate." he whispers quickly. "_Anyone_."

"Wher-"

"Mayor's office. That's where the others are." Gale tells her, before handing Haymitch a knife. "That's only a couple of houses from here but it's going to be a risky trip. There are some of them lurking around the streets. We need to take the alley." He turns to Katniss, his grey eyes gaze into hers now, shooting her an intense look but they're empty, hollow. Her breathing hitches, not because the stench is worse but because Gale is acting like he doesn't even know her. "You know the way around the alley. I need you to stay focused."

"I don't get a-" Peeta begins to protest but the dark haired boy cuts him off quickly.

"I've seen you handle a knife, lover boy. With those skills of yours, or lack there of, you'd probably end up cutting yourself." _Lover boy._ The venom of these words cut through the alley. _That's why Gale's acting this way._ She watches him hesitate for another moment before turning again to Peeta. "Did you get bitten?"

"I-what?"

He shoves the smaller boy against the wall angrily. Katniss lets out a tiny gasp. "Cray. Did he bite you?"

"Hold on, son. There isn't any need for this." Haymitch intervenes as he tries to pull the boys apart, suddenly sober again but Gale has Peeta in a lock with his arms. Katniss is still frozen, she can't think.

"No! He was trying to but I struggled and kep-" The dark haired boy pulls away and shots him an icy look before nodding. The smell of death is stronger on the streets, Katniss peaks at the District she once knew and doesn't see it. It's a barren grey land of fog and bones. It suffocates her and sends a chill down her spine. The streets, once bustling and busy, are no longer abuzz with chatter and life. It's empty.

She purses her lips, her grip on the bow tightening slightly. It's hers. It's her bow from the woods. That's when it all sinks in, there's something wrong and it's going to kill them. "Gale, what's going on?" she whispers but Gale either doesn't hear her or doesn't _want_ to hear her. Her words are left trailing the dead air, she sighs.

Slowly, they scuffle towards the end of the alley. Groaning; in the darkness. Shapes loom closer, Gale curses under his breath before finally handing Peeta a knife. "They must've heard us. The head, not the heart. It stops beating when the decease begins but their heads-it starts there and it stops there." He says, his tone barely a whisper. But before Katniss could ask, a figure lunges towards them. The arrow goes through an eye socket and straight through the brain, she doesn't realize it's her shot until she feels the curved shape of the bow in her grasp. Numb; she feels numb.

"Games did you some good after all, _Catnip_." He spits, a smirk forming his lips; a bittersweet feeling rumbles in her stomach. Peeta refuses to acknowledge them. It's Haymitch who makes a sound, it's a grunt. His gaze travels to the corner, more have come leaving them with little chances for exit. "Shit. Clear out. We can't take them all down, go back to the station."

More arrows are thrown, Haymitch stumbles and presses the knife against one's head. The blood is a rotten dark red colour that splashes around his fingers before pulling it out. There are screams, stumbling. She can't think properly. It's Peeta who's cornered, two figures with ripped clothes and grey skin. Their smell is foul as Katniss approaches, one arrow left. She'll have to take a chance, the arrow is launched and hit on the other's head but one is about to get Peeta.

"Peeta, your knife!" she screams, the terror evident in her own voice as it quivers with fear. The blonde doesn't hear her, his own screams echoe in the alley.

She lunges for the body and now understands. It's his mother. Golden and grey locks stained with foul smelling blood, several dried wounds are scattered about body. Her clothes, ripped and muddy in places. "Mrs. Mellark." She gasps. Her eyes, hollow and dark. Her nose, decaying and looking as if it were about to fall off. It scratches her just before Peeta lodges a knife into his mother's skull.

She crumples to the ground, her smell almost knocking Katniss out. The blonde boy pushes his mother away, tears straining his eyes. What had just happened? "Are you alright?" Peeta asks shakily. She nods, not quite sure what to say. _Are you?_ She wants to ask but suddenly, she can't find her voice.

"Katniss!" Gale calls from behind, his head peaking out of the heavy metal door they came from a few minutes ago. Footsteps, more sounds from behind. Peeta nods at her as they pick up a quick pace. It's only when the sounds of the door rings in her ears she stops. Panting, heart pounding quickly. The station is still eerie, the train has left, and Katniss hopes only they are there. "There'll be more. We need to find a room before they find us." _What are_ they_?_

"Over there." Peeta says, pointing towards the waiting rooms. They had stayed there for a good hour or so a few weeks ago, waiting for their death. It seems as if the wait never ends.

Inside is the same, the plush sofas are still as clean and velvety as they had left it. The walls, still the elegant gold and red. Shelves, silver trays of food. The only windows in the room are small rectangles placed so close to the ceiling. "Help me barricade the door." Gale says, pushing a sofa against the door. The three, turn and stare at him. He snarls. "Am I with victors or just weaklings who got lucky?"

That snaps something in Haymitch, with a low growl, he pushes the sofas as well. Peeta helps as well but it's Katniss who stares at Gale defiantly. "What happened out there?" she demands angrily after they pushed the last sofa across the room.

Gale ignores her. "Did anyone get bitten?" They all shake their heads. He nods and gestures them to sit down. "I need to be certain none of you got bitten." His glances at Peeta sideways, then at her and Haymitch. "Because that's how you get it. That's how you turn into one of them."

They sit down under the dimmed lights, the eerie silence envelops the room as they avoid looking into each other's eyes. "What is _it_?" Peeta chokes out, tears almost spilling from his blue eyes. Instictively, Katniss wishes she could press her hands over his but remembers that's not her job anymore. His mother had attacked them, her skin had been grey, her gaze cold. "My mother.." he mumbles as if reading her mind.

"I'm sorry." Gale nods gruffly, his hands are clasped together as he looks down on the floor. "_It_ is a decease. Nobody knows how it started but we've all assumed it was from one of the new Peacekeepers-"

"New Peacekeepers?" Katniss asks, cutting him off. "What do you mean new Peacekeepers? What happened to Cray?"

"They replaced him after the stunt with the berries, didn't they?" Haymitch grins toothily as he wanders around, probably looking for scotch. Gale hesitates before saying yes, Haymitch let's out a drunken gruttal laugh. "I knew it. Old Cray was too lax. Always drunk in The Hob." _You mean like you?_ Katniss wants to ask but she pushes the urge aside and stares back at Gale.

"We didn't know who it started with in the District. It was just a huge outbreak, one minute everything was okay then it took over. Children, men, women; almost half of the people started getting these intense fevers. Rory told me most of his classmates stopped going to school, people in the mines stopped coming. We thought it was an epidemic, something like malaria. _It wasn't_. Pretty soon people started biting each other, Vick..." Tears now threatened to fall from Gale's glassy eyes, his voice began to shake. "He came home one day and said this girl from his class _bit_ him. It was deep, he bled a bit, and we even asked your mother to help us. It was too late. He ran a fever the same night, your mother had to keep him with them so she could keep an eye on him."

She lets out a gasp as Gale chokes on the next few words. "When I came back for him the next day... he wouldn't wake up at first. His skin was grey, there were circles under his eyes. He looked _dead_. He was, the fever had killed him. I wanted to wake your mom. God, I felt terrible. I was angry. I wanted to blame someone, anyone. I yelled at your mom, Catnip. I didn't-"

She wishes she could say something to make him feel better, wishes she could wrap her arms around him. Peeta pretends to be interested in his shoelaces, ignoring both of them. Haymitch is lost in the back, going through shelves for something to drink. The moment is there, she could reach up to him and hold him if he let her but she can't move. The only word that comes out from her is a quivering "Prim."

"Prim." He chuckles darkly. "It was Prim who brought me back. I was so busy arguing with your mom that I didn't even hear him. Vick, I mean. He had gotten up from behind me, Prim's screams rang through my senses as she hid behind your mother. Vick was twitching, making these odd noises. They didn't sound human but I didn't notice. I ran to him, I thought he was alive again. I thought I had been wrong. It wasn't until I smelled it. The stench. He smelled like... Like death." That's when a tear escapes. "It wasn't Vick."

"What did you do?" Peeta asks quietly, still not looking up.

"He lunged for Prim. I couldn't-I didn't know." Gale stares at his hands now trembling on his lap. "I pulled him away before he could bite her. I-I couldn't kill him. I let him loose. He's still there, Catnip. _Here._"

"Gale, I-" But her world is tumbling. Prim, Prim, Prim. She is the only one she loves. "Is Prim okay? Where is she?" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry._ There isn't space for sympathy as worry drowns her like a sullen sea.

"She's okay. I told you, the other's are in the Mayor's office. Only a few left, really. Your mom and Prim run the infirmary there." Gale shakes his head. "Your mother, Peeta. I'm sorry. Your family-I heard it was your father who got hit first."

Her hand flies up over her lips. "So-the decease. You can only get it if you're bitten?" She says, not really a question. "Then the fever hits and you turn into one-one of those after a day?"

"It could take days, hours, weeks even. I've seen someone get bitten and rise after a couple of seconds. It's unpredictable." Gale says.

"Does the Capitol know about it? Have they sent supplies?" She asks, words flying out out of her mouth in a quick flurry.

Haymitch cackles, suddenly appearing behind them. "Haven't you been listening, sweetheart?" A glass of amber liquid in his glass sloshes back and forth and he stares at them mockingly. "Most likely, the Capitol sent them here on purpose. Did you really think Snow would let you live after the stunt you two pulled?"

"He can't do that. He can't wipe-out an entire District! People are innocent!" He wouldn't do that. No one, not even Snow could be that cruel.

"Oh?" Haymitch's eyebrow cocks up. "Who's there to say that an epidemic coincidentially killed an entire District? The poor star-crossed lovers of District Twelve, who defied all odds, were to get hit. Who's to say Snow wouldn't spread it to District Eleven as well? After that trick with the little girl in the arena, the District fell into chaos. You've started something, sweetheart, and Snow isn't pleased. He's willing to wipe out as many people as possible and call it an accident. People would believe it. Why? Because people will believe anything safe."

Silence. She tries to listen to the scuffling outside, to anything but outside is as quiet as inside. No one says a word, it's Peeta who finally breaks the silence with a nervous chuckle. They all look up at him with curious stares. "I guess they did it again, didn't they?" He smiles specifically at Katniss, giving a long sweeping gesture across his body. His suit, now dirty with blood and mud. "They dressed us up for another slaughter."

"Let the Games begin." She says bitterly, glancing at Gale.

"May the odds-" He says with a hard, frustrated tone.

Laughing, she answers. "Be _ever_ in your favour." And suddenly, the words begin to take a new meaning to her. She shivers as she leans her back against the cool metal wall.


End file.
